Samsung Gives A Tough Fight To Xiaomi in India – Who Will Win The Battle Of Smartphones?

Xiaomi and Samsung, both churned out record sales of smartphones in India.

The smartphone shipments have a record growth in the last quarter, and Xiaomi and Samsung has been the biggest gainers. India’s number one smartphone brand Xiaomi has recorded a phenomenal 106 percent growth in smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2018.

Xiaomi’s biggest competitor in the country, Samsung too has done a pretty good job in the mean time.

Xiaomi and Samsung together have shipped a record 20 million plus smartphones in India in the same period. The total number of smartphone shipments also has seen a major jump by by 22 percent, up from 26.8 million in the same quarter from last year.

Xiaomi & Samsung Hold 60 Percent Of The Market Share

Both Xiaomi and Samsung currently accounts for more than 60 percent of the smartphones shipped in India during the quarter. The two companies in total have shipped 20 million plus smartphones in the second quarter of 2018.

Xiaomi was already doing well, but Samsung, which fell short to Xiaomi’s cut-throat competition has bounced back well.

The South Korean tech giant has registered a record 47 percent growth. The Samsung market share has grown phenomenally compared to the same quarter from last year. Samsung lost its long-held top smartphone brand crown to Xiaomi last year.

Most Sold Smartphones in India

In the second quarter of 2018, Xiaomi and Samsung have predominantly lead the smartphone sales in the country.

For Samsung, it was its best-selling Samsung J2 Pro which has been shipped 2.3 million units. While for Xiaomi, it was its Desh Ka Smartphone, Redmi 5A which clocked a record 3.3 million shipments in Q2 2018.

Out of the top four smartphone brands, three spots are taken up by the Chinese companies in the Indian smartphone market. Vivo is in the third spot with 3.6 million phones shipped and Oppo is in fourth place with 3.1 million phones shipped in the second quarter of 2018.

Most Sold Smartphones in India (Brands)

2nd Quarter (2018)

Brands

Share

Growth

Units Sold

Xiaomi

30%

106%

10+ million

Samsung

30%

47%

10+ million

Vivo

11%

32%

3.6 million

Oppo

10%

5%

3.1 million

Growing Market For Asus & Realme

The Taiwanese giant Asus recently revamped its marketing strategy in the country. The company has shifted from a go-to-market model to an online-first market in association with Flipkart.

Similarly, Oppo too has launched an online-only budget brand Realme to take on Xiaomi and Samsung.

Asus has seen a massive jump in sales as the shipments have tripled since last quarter. Realme too has seen a good amount of sales, and the results of Asus and Oppo’s Realme will be more evident in the upcoming quarter.

Apple Shipments Down By 50 Percent

Overall iPhone sales saw a major drop in the last couple of quarters due to pricing worries. With higher import duties, Apple was forced to increase the prices which resulted in lower sales.

The shipments fell down by around 50 percent in the second quarter of 2018.

The company also has opted a new sales strategy which focuses on the brand and not volume, that may pay off for Apple in India in the long run. After iPhone SE, Apple recently started producing iPhone 6S locally to attract more price-sensitive consumers.

Image: CIAT via Flickr

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